Flew with a Robinson factory pilot today..

Hi Kevin,

You didn't say, but I'm assuming that you were
flying a R22, and not the R44. I've only done
about 3 autos in the R22, but what you are saying
makes sense to me, and was also the way I was
taught. As long as you don't let the rotor RPM
get into the red, you are fine, and the additional
rotational momentum will be a good thing when you
go to set it down.

OTOH, I personally would tend to keep the rotor on
the high end and avoid getting even close to the
90% because of the possibility of a blade stall,
and the unrecoverable fatal consequences.

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:

I've always argued that once you're stabilized in the auto at 60-65
knots and get the rpm in the green, you don't have to do JACK with the
collective for most maneuvers on the way down as long as you don't
exceed 110% (max power off RPM in the R22) or go below 90% RPM. I've
argued that in the flare, your RPM goes well above 102% so why not let
it get into the upper yellow arc on the way down? Once you're back to
your 60-65 knots, the RPM will drop right back into the green..

Kevin: Are you still planning on going to the Central Sierra Helicopter
Fly-In? Would love to meet you and talk about some of the things you
learned as well as maybe talk you into an article about some of your
experiences.

--
Stuart Fields
Experimental Helo magazine
P. O. Box 1585
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-4478
(760) 408-9747 general and layout cell
(760) 608-1299 technical and advertising cell

www.vkss.com
www.experimentalhelo.com


"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net wrote in
message ...
On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 17:59:27 GMT, Don W
wrote:

Hi Kevin,

You didn't say, but I'm assuming that you were
flying a R22, and not the R44. I've only done
about 3 autos in the R22, but what you are saying
makes sense to me, and was also the way I was
taught. As long as you don't let the rotor RPM
get into the red, you are fine, and the additional
rotational momentum will be a good thing when you
go to set it down.

OTOH, I personally would tend to keep the rotor on
the high end and avoid getting even close to the
90% because of the possibility of a blade stall,
and the unrecoverable fatal consequences.

Oh, yeah, R22. (Can't afford the 44 right now) I'd also prefer to
keep the rotor RPM on the high side, but best glide in both the 44 and
the 22 is 90% @ 75kts.. I was always "fearful" (for lack of a more
appropriate term) of letting the nose get too low in an auto for fear
of decaying rotor RPM but this guy showed me you could push the nose
over as far as 20 degrees coming out of a zero airspeed auto to build
airspeed for the flare - without touching the collective. It was VERY
educational and a lot of fun to do..

I'm going to head up to the school in a little while and schedule some
time with the head instructor to work on some of these new skills
while they're still fresh in my mind.

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 07:30:59 -0700, "Stuart & Kathryn Fields"
wrote:

Kevin: Are you still planning on going to the Central Sierra Helicopter
Fly-In? Would love to meet you and talk about some of the things you
learned as well as maybe talk you into an article about some of your
experiences.

It's still on my calendar, but there have been some MAJOR shake-ups at
work that may prevent me from coming. I won't be arriving in any sort
of helicopter (unfortunately) unless the lease on "my" R22 comes
through in the next couple days. If it does, the hel;icopter is in
Sacramento so I'd certainly stop at the ranch to say "howdy"

If you see a lifted '02 F350 crew cab 4wd in white with 4 large desert
lights on the front up there, you'll know I made it.

Sounds like it would be cheaper to fly in in an R22!

"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net wrote in
message ...
On 29 Apr 2006 15:41:31 -0700, "JohnO" wrote:


Sounds like it would be cheaper to fly in in an R22!

Having done the math, the truck would be a little more than half as
expensive to drive vs. flying. The R22 would be a lot more fun tho.



Well then, if the R22 is more than twice the fun, you've just broke even!

Sounds like a deal to me! :-D

Fly Safe,
Steve R.

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
On 30 Apr 2006 16:15:38 -0700, "JohnO" wrote:

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
On 29 Apr 2006 15:41:31 -0700, "JohnO" wrote:


Sounds like it would be cheaper to fly in in an R22!
Having done the math, the truck would be a little more than half as
expensive to drive vs. flying. The R22 would be a lot more fun tho.
But did you factor in your valuable time?

The time savings really wouldn't be that great. About 5 hours round
trip as I've got the flight planned right now. As for "valuable
time", my weekends are for ****ing away hours doing what I want to do
so they're not worth much.






Beg to differ, Kevin, but hours spent ****ing away doing what you
want to do are the most valuable hours of all.

"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...
The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
On 30 Apr 2006 16:15:38 -0700, "JohnO" wrote:

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:
On 29 Apr 2006 15:41:31 -0700, "JohnO" wrote:


Sounds like it would be cheaper to fly in in an R22!
Having done the math, the truck would be a little more than half as
expensive to drive vs. flying. The R22 would be a lot more fun tho.
But did you factor in your valuable time?

The time savings really wouldn't be that great. About 5 hours round
trip as I've got the flight planned right now. As for "valuable
time", my weekends are for ****ing away hours doing what I want to do
so they're not worth much.

Beg to differ, Kevin, but hours spent ****ing away doing what you want
to do are the most valuable hours of all.

Amen to that! :-)